Trolley-clamp



J. T. MORGAN.

TROLLEY CLAMP. APPLICATION FILED JAN. 17. 1920.

1,360,006, Patented Nov. 23,1920.

PATEN rQ JOI-I'N e; iiioaliN, or oimitinstron, wus'r viaemm;

' TROLLEY CLAMP.

' Specification of Letterslatent. Now,

Application filed January 17, 1920. serial No. 352335.

To allwhomit may concemw; v H I Be it known thatl, JoHnT. MORGAN, a

citizen of the UnitedQStates residing at Charleston, in the-county of Kanawha and State of West Virginia,Ihaveinventedanew and useful Trolley-Clamp, of which the folployed to having simple means for insuring an efii- The movable aw consists of a bony i6,

cient grippingof a trolley wire by complemental clamping jaws. A further object is to provide a trolley clamp having'j aw members capable of relative longitudinalmovement, the relatively movable parts .being provided with wedge portions capable of reacting to produce an effective clamping action. 1 v. I

The invention will be hereinafter fully set forth and particularly pointed out inthe claims.

In the accompanying drawing Figure 1 is a side elevation illustrating a trolley clamp constructed in accordance with the invention. Fig. 2 is a transverse sectional view on the line 2-2, Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a detail view of the removable clamp member; Figs. 4c and 5 are sectional views illustrating different modifications. Fig.6 is a detail sectional view-illustrating a modification of the suspension memberx 7 is a side elevation illustrating an additional modification.

Referring to I 1ng, 10 designates the main; supporting member of atrolley clamp, provided with a suspension member 11, constructed to engage an overhead support; Any suitable engaging means maybe employed, but for purposes of illustration a threaded socket '12, is shown. As' illustrated inFig. 2, the

supporting member 10 is providedwith an integral jaw 13. Saidmember is also provided-with a chamber of; dovetail, shape in cross section, the upper wallof said chamber being inclined'ias indicatedatl l ingdotted line's Fig.1. Theside walls of the chamber are formed by-the jaw'1'3 and a depending j shorter wall 15 having a squared loner edgea T provided with a jaw pOrtiOm -thetop surface of said body beinginclined as indicated 18, shaped, to cooperate with the wall 1 1 to obtain a WedgingactiQn when the movable jaw is shifted toctheright as viewed I in Fig. 1. The body 16 is provided with a longitudinal shoulder ,19, and, its ends are provided with projections \20 and 21. .Com- 7 serted movable jaw 16, are positioned over jaw portion of member 16 will-engage therewith. Force is then appliedyto the projection 20 to move the clamp {member ,16 longiplete separation of the parts is preventedxby the trolley wire'W so that the, jaw 13 ;and'

tudinally Y (to the right as shown in Fig.1 1)

the jaw 17 being-ini engagementfwith the wire W, the same, being} guided .by'the walls of the dovetail chamber and-by the lower edge of the. wall 15 which engagesthe shoulder 19,- formedon the wedge member- The inclined surfaces 1 1 "ancl f 18 cooperate; to 7' produce awedginggactiontas the" clamp member 16 isforced inwardly, thereby-firmly and securely retaining said 'fwedge member 16 in place with a tight grip upon'jthe trolley wires When it is desired to disengage the device from the ,wire W pressure isv applied to the end 21*, and the clamp member is shifted to the left (in the-position shown inFig. 1), until. the pin'22 strikes against the; body 10. r This movementwill besuflicient..to permit theclamping: members to be; disengaged from; thetrol'l'ey wire,- and Y ,7 v yetprevent complete separation of 'therel- Figs. 1, 2 and3 of thedraw- I atively movable'smembers.

. In F igl 14: is illustrated a slight'modification, iniwhich the chamber in the support with, and the supporting member"- is-,pro-;

vided witha dovetail chamber 25-, in which are- -inseijted duplicate; clamp 1 members 26,

having their upper surfaces 27 inclined to provide a wedging action-against the corres n n' .1 ml 28 of t eh'amben;

- inclined isurf f the top P Fig. 1.

In Fig. 6 the suspension member 11? is illustrated as separate from the body 10 and swiveled thereto by means of the boltBO.

In lieu' of employing the pin 22, the projection 21may'be provided with a' lug or extension 31, as illustrated in Fig, 7. In this form the main supporting meniberlO is cored out, as indicated at 32, to provide a shoulder 33, the under surface of the wall thus permitting ample movementfor the positioning of the jaws over a wire and yet preventmg separation. of sald members.

From what has been said it will be readily understood that one or both of the gripping'parts or jaws act as wedges, thereby insuring a'maximum gripping action on the wire, and the whole comprises a simple unitary device'which may be readilyapplied to or disengaged from a wire. Being made up of few parts it is not liable to readily get out of order. Another advantage isthat by using a piece of wood for a' hammer, live trolley wires may be inserted in the clamp.

Having thus explained the nature of the invention and described an operative manner of constructing and using the same, al-

though .without attempting to set forth all of the forms in which it may be made, or all of the forms of its use, what is claimed is 1. A trolley clamp'of the character described comprising a supporting member, and wire-clamping jaws, said jaws having means cooperating with each other for frictionally retaining them in gripping relation. 7 2. A trolley clamp of the character described comprising a supporting member provided with a wire-clampmg jaw, and a second wire-clamping jaw movably engaging the-supporting member, said second jaw and said supporting member having complemental coacting portions for frictionally retaining the jaws in gripping relation.

3. A- trolley clamp of the character described comprising a supporting. member provided with a wire-clamping jaw, and a second wire-clamping jaw movably engaging the supporting member, said supporting member having means coeperating with said second jaw for retaining the latter in gripping relation.

4. A trolley clamp of the character described comprising a supporting member provided with a wire-clamping jaw, and a second'wire-clamping jaw movably engaging said supporting member, said second jaw and said supporting member having complemental inclined surfaces positioned to c'o-act to produce a wedging action.

5. A' trolley clamp of the character described comprising a supporting member provided with a chamber having an inclined top wall and a rigid wire clamping-j aw, and a. slidable wire-clamping jaw having an in-. clined surface positioned to co-act with the inclined wall of said chamber to produce a wedging action. 1 V

6. A trolley clamp of the character described comprising a supporting member provided with a chamber having an inclined top wall and a rigid wire-clamping jaw, and a slidable wire-clamping jaw having an inclined surface positioned to coact with the inclined wall of said chamber to produce a wedging action, said slidable jaw having projections on its ends to receive the force applied in placing the slidable jaw into and out of engaging position.

7. A trolley clamp of thecharacter described comprising. a supporting member provided witha rigid jaw and a chamber, one wall ofthe chamber being formed by said jaw the opposite wall havinga squared edge, and a slidable jaw having a shoulder v 8. A trolleyclamp of the character de- V scribed comprising a supporting member provided with a rigid jaw and a chamber,

one wall of the chamber being formed. by said jaw the opposite wall havinga squared edge, a slidable jaw having a shoulder positioned to engage said squared edge, said slidable aw and said chamber having complemental inclined surfaces disposed to establish a wedging engagement.

9. A trolley clamp of the ,character'de scribed comprising a supporting member provided with a rigid jaw and a chamber, one wall of thechamber being formed by said jaw, a slidable jaw located within said chamber, said sildable jaw and said chamber havinginclined' surfaces positioned to co act to produce a wedging action, the ends of said slidable being provided with projections, and means for normally preventing complete separation of said slidable jaw and said supporting member.

10. A trolley clamp of the character described comprising a supporting -1nember provided with a wire-clamping jaw, and a secondwire-clam-pingjaw movably engaging said supporting member, said second jaw and said supporting member having complemental inclined surfaces positioned to 00- act to produce a wedging action, and means for normally preventing complete separation of said supporting member and the second wire clamping jaw.

scribed comprising a supporting member jaw having a stop positioned to cooperate provided With a Wire clamping jaw, and a With the supporting member to limit relasecond Wire clamping jaw movably engagtive movement of said member and thesee- 10 ing the supporting member, said second jaw 0nd jaw in one direction.

and said supporting member having com- In testimony whereof I have hereunto set plemental means for frietionally retaining my hand.

the jaws in gripping relation, said second JOHN T. MORGAN. 

